Rocker Stalker

The Rocker Stalker Summer Series is well on its way! Starting JULY 10 at Bowery Electric, RS will be featuring THE DEAD EXS, SOCIAL HERO, NATURE OF CITY, and THE NUCLEARS! Doors at 6pm, 21+ $10

I crossed the river. The Hudson, that is, over to Hoboken to catch two of my favorite NYC acts, Blackbells and Alberta Cross, at Maxwell’s. One of three local, small venue shows, AC prepped for their upcoming  Dave Matthews Caravan gigs in the coming weeks.

Every night, the show got better. At their performances on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Rock Shop in Park Slope, Alberta Cross were supported by Ed Vallance and Prospector, respectively, New York acts that matched the caliber of the headliner. After three consecutive nights, AC is definitely at the top of the list of the highly rocker stalker-able.

I caught several of my favorite moments. Here’s some footage of Alberta Cross’s “ATX” at Maxwell’s, “Rise from the Shadows” at The Rock Shop, and paparazzi products from each evening…

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The victorious Black Taxi will be playing twice today in Downtown Stamford, CT. As a reward for their Bandapalooza win (Thanks for voting!), they will be opening for Third Eye Blind at 5pm at Alive@5. It’s all ages and $10! If you miss that set, Black Taxi will also be hitting the stage at 9pm at Rack n Roll!

Additionally, you can become part of Black Taxi’s new record by contributing to their Kickstarter page. Lots of fun prizes! Click here to give!

I rarely get tickets to see a band three times in a row, but Alberta Cross’s gig last night in NJ definitely made my purchasing decisions easy. It’s been two years since I’ve seen them play, but after an obsessive listen to the new album, an interview with the bassist Terry Wolfers, and hearing some unreleased tracks last night, Alberta Cross, simply put, rock my world. I’m looking forward to two nights in a row at The Rock Shop in Brooklyn. Don’t miss the opportunity to see these guys in an intimate space before they head off on tour! 9pm, 21+, $15

Read the exclusive interview below!

1. What is the history behind the band and the name Alberta Cross?

Petter and I [Terry Wolfers] started the band about 6 years ago now. We met in a bar in East London that my friend was running. The band that Petter was in at the time was looking for a bass player, so I stepped in for a few shows. At this time I was starting to get very much in to recording and mixing so when Petter told me he had some new material he wanted to record I got him round to my place, and we started demoing all of the songs off of our first EP (“The Thief and the Heartbreaker”) and many more. The stuff that was coming up was so special that we felt it was a little too good to take in to the band that we were working with at the time…so we started Alberta Cross. We would just go and do 2-piece acoustic shows all over London so we could start playing the songs live rather than waiting until we had a full band…

2. You have been on some extensive tours with some notable acts; which artist taught and inspired you the most?

For me it has to be when we toured with Them Crooked Vultures! All of us have such a wealth of respect for everyone in that band…I consider myself to be very lucky to have met John Paul Jones! I would be standing backstage, and he would come over and start havin’ a chat. We clicked a bit as we are both Brits and would talk about stuff happening back home… 

3. What is your best tour story? A lot of best tour stores could only be shared with very close friends but here’s one I can tell:

We were on tour with Oasis in Europe and were playing 2 shows in Cardiff, Wales. Wales is a very big rugby country and the fans are lunatics so we knew we were gonna’ be in for a bit of a rough night. An Oasis crowd is like a football crowd, and if you are the support band, you are basically the away team. They give you tons of shit! Some of the security at the venue had warned us that the soul boys were gonna be in the crowd (The soul boys are the Cardiff city nutcase fans.),and we should be prepared to get some stick. Well, when we went out to soundcheck, there was a bullet on the floor in front of the stage! It was a little freaky, as we literally had just finished hearing how rough the crowed could be. Needless to say, it was the best show of the tour, and the crowd was great! Much love to the Welsh!!

4.  What events are you most excited for this summer?

I’m really looking forward to Bonnaroo, the DMB festivals, and of course going home to the U.K… Bonnaroo as it is one of my favorite U.S. festivals and the last time we played there we had a wonderful crowd and will be playing a good few tracks off of the new album.

DMB festivals as it is always a real pleasure to get to hang out with DMB band and crew. They are as fine a bunch as you could ever wish to meet and have been so amazing to us.

5. You were voted as one of the Deli’s “Best of 2010 Alternative Rock” artists; what are you most proud of this past year?

That’s beautiful, thank you! I must say it has to be John Paul Jones telling me that he enjoyed my bass playing. That is one of the things I will be most proud of for my whole life. A true English gent.

6. Where do you see Alberta Cross in 5 years?

Berlin

Just across the river, at Hoboken’s Maxwell’s, Blackbells will join fellow Brookylnites, Alberta Cross, who are finishing up their tour and fresh off of Bonaroo. Alberta Cross will also be playing two intimate shows. tomorrow and Wednesday, in Park Slope at The Rock Shop. Tonight’s show starts at 8:30pm, $12, 21+.

If you’re sticking around the city, Reckless Sons, just back from San Francisco’s TEDxSF event, will be rocking Bowery Electric. Also playing are The Constant and Kinch, who is this month’s resident at the venue. It’s 18+, doors at 7:30pm.

There’s one band that knows how to rock on behalf of birthdays, and that’s Social Hero. This time around, they celebrated vocalist, Dave Lloyd’s, birthday on Saturday night with a sweat-fest in the basement of Lit Lounge. Serious birthday face-melting. Literally.

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If you missed Thursday’s shenanigans, here’s a look back on the show with Blackbells and The Wicked Tomorrow. I also was thrilled to hear another notable group, Electric People, at Bowery Electric!

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Here’s a little preview of a  new track from Blackbells!

If you missed the first of the “Rocker Stalker” presents shows on June 12 at Glasslands in Brooklyn, here’s a look at the night that featured Hi Mountain, The Wicked Tomorrow (video below), Papertwin, and Year of the Tiger. Stay tuned for more summer shows!

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It’s another birthday show! Dave Lloyd of Social Hero celebrates his birthday by rockin’ Lit Lounge tonight! Come on by to say (or sing, if you can), “Happy Birthday,” and party with one of the rocking-est bands I know! 9pm, 21+, $6!